1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for manufacture of a toothbrush from a starting material which is comprised of a handle which runs smoothly into a neck part that splits into two equal and diverging arms connected with their own head part, in which the bristle-carrying surfaces of the head part is predominantly in a plane which goes through the centre-line of the shaft, and in which bristles are inserted, standing, on the whole, vertically up from the plane and are of different lengths.
Furthermore, the invention is a device for manufacture of toothbrushes.
The invention also relates to a toothbrush with a handle that is connected, by way of arms, with two separate bristle-carrying head parts.
In addition, the invention relates to a special application area for the toothbrush manufactured.
The present invention relates to a toothbrush which has a shape that can be adjusted for cleaning of different types of teeth in animals and humans.
2. The Prior Art
Teeth diseases, such as tooth decay and gum disease, which result in loosening of teeth, exist among animals as well as humans. The diseases can be prevented by effective cleaning which acts against build-up of harmful layers of bacteria on the teeth. For animals and humans, a natural diet does not lead to conditions in which disease-forming layers of bacteria are encouraged, but diseases of the teeth do occur in animals and humans that do not have a natural diet. Cleaning of teeth is therefore a necessity for exposed groups of pets and domestic animals, especially dogs and cats, and humans that are subjected to layers of bacteria causing disease.
Toothbrushes with two head parts have been described and produced earlier. However, nobody has hitherto succeeded in producing a practical and acceptable toothbrush which satisfies the ideal demands that a toothbrush shall:
1) have a small compact head part.
2) enfold the whole tooth and clean accessible teeth surfaces in one go with a simple movement of the brush.
3) have a bristle shape which is adjusted for careful cleaning in the area between tooth and gum.
4) be manufactured automatically in a continuous process with inserting of the bristle and trimming of the bristle by processing of the bristle ends and bending of the head part to its final form.
Furthermore, there has for a long time been a need for a toothbrush construction in which the brush can be adjusted to the different teeth shapes of mammals, and which can keep the exposed area at the transition between tooth and gum clean. It must be possible to adjust the toothbrush to the different teeth shapes of front teeth, canines and back teeth/molars. The various teeth groups have different shapes with dissimilar lengths and thickness. A toothbrush which shall enfold the tooth and clean the whole of the tooth in one go must, therefore, be adjustable to the different teeth shapes.
A toothbrush which has such a property, as well as the way it is manufactured, is described in the following.
Previously known are toothbrushes or starting-materials for toothbrushes, which have a Y-shaped embodiment of the toothbrush blank, where the bristle groups are placed at a considerable distance apart, such as being placed in rhombus- or parallelogram shaped head parts which are connected with arms in a U-shaped, concave arch to a handle. It will be difficult to insert bristle groups into the two head parts of a starting-material of this type in an unfolded state in one simple operation, because the distance between the bristle groups is very large. In these embodiments, the bristle groups are therefore best suited to be manufactured separately in two operations.
The embodiment with the associated arms in a U-shape or Y-shape results in the toothbrushes, which have considerable distance between the head parts with the bristle groups in bent condition, will become lumpy and inappropriate to use because the head- and neck parts will take up too much space in the mouth and this means that the gap between the teeth in the upper jaw and lower jaw becomes so large that the toothbrush is unpleasant or difficult to use.